Employment

Return to Common Sense

November 16, 2016

Section: Domestic
– Employment

“Increase union accountability
and effectiveness by requiring re-certification elections every five years to
ensure unions continue to meet member needs and unions continue to represent
their members.”

“Government's role
should be only to keep the playing field level, and to work hand in hand with
business on issues such as employment. But beyond this, to as great an extent
as possible, it should get the hell out of the way.”
Jesse Ventura.

Philosophy
(Background, Issues, Objectives):

Department
of Labor is a U.S. Cabinet level department responsible
for:

Occupational safety.

Wage and hour standards.

Unemployment insurance benefits.

Re-employment services.

Some economic statistics.

Americans work more, enjoy their work
more, and are happier than any other country.

General Social
Survey (GSS) found 89% of workers are very satisfied or satisfied with
their jobs.

oNo difference in satisfaction found between those
with above or below average incomes.

oTwo thirds of working people would continue to
work, even after having money to stop working.

For most
Americans work is a rock-solid source of life happiness.

oHappy people work more hours per week than unhappy
people.

oHappy people work more in their free time as well.

oPeople with more hours per week to relax outside
their jobs are not happier.

2002
International Social Survey Programme found US
happier than other 34 countries.

Work is viewed in a broader perspective, including much more than
just a job.

oEmployment is merely one part (albeit an important
part) of your broader work during your life on earth.

oIt includes teaching your children, volunteering,
working on your house or yard, spending time with a community organization,
serving your church, becoming an informed citizen, or working on your mind and
soul by studying and praying.

A
professional civil service was created to deliver good government through two
salient characteristics: able bureaucrats are selected by competitive
examination, and tenure protects workers from political interference in doing
their jobs.

The U.S. Civil Service was set up in 1871 and began
professionalization with the 1883 Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act.

In the
first half of the twentieth century, civil servants commonly eschewed
political activity and usually were paid less than private-sector workers,
though security and good pensions balanced that.

o60% of workers prefer EI programs to improve
working conditions over either government regulations or labor unions.

oThe time for unions may be over; they
have run their course and usefulness.

Public sector union membership is the only growing sector.

oIn 1958. New York City mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. issued an
executive order that permitted municipal employees to be represented by unions
for collective bargaining.

oIn
1959, Wisconsin became the first state to allow its public employees to
unionize, and other states followed suit.

oPublic
sector unions are a monopoly, whose product, by law, can’t be refused.

§There has been
considerable research on the effects of collective bargaining on wages, and
consensus estimates are that unions raise wages by about 10 to 15% above the
rate that would prevail in their absence.

oGovernment was once considered exempt from unionization.

§The professional Civil
Service was corrupted to reward members of politically favored groups.

§Executive Order 10988 in 1962 (“little Wagner act”) allowed unionization of the federal work force.

§When you legally protect
public unions, it sets up a client relationship among the civil servants, their
unions, and the politicians that guarantees corruption.

§Government workers cannot use
their time to promote one political party over another (federal ruling on Cook
County, Chicago).

§Public sector unions have become one of the biggest sources of
political donations, primarily to Democrat candidates.

§It's undeniable
that these programs increased the cost, lowered the qualifications, and made
the Civil Service more responsive to the politicians

§Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has
1.9 million members.

§American Federation of State, County, and Municipal
Employees (AFSCME) has 1.6 million members.

§National Education Association (NEA) has 3.0
million members.

§American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has 1.6
million members.

§Other municipal public sector unions amount to
about 12 million members.

§Over 95% of political contributions from union employees has gone to Democrats.

o51% of all union members are in the public sector
– federal, state, or local.

oFederal employment pay gap between public and
private sector employment is increasing at breakneck speed.

§Public employees are earning an average $13.38 per
hour in benefits, while private sector workers earn only $7.98.

§Government benefits rose
three times more than those in the private sector.

oCongress has exempted itself from laws
allowing staff to unionize.

Government employees
don’t work as much as private employees.

oDuring
a typical workweek, private-sector employees work about 41.4 hours, while
federal workers put in 38.7 hours, and state and local government employees
work 38.1 hours.

oIn
a calendar year, private-sector employees work the equivalent of 3.8 more
40-hour workweeks than federal employees and 4.7 more weeks than state and
local government workers.

Right to work generally refers
to section 14b of the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, which allows states to bar union
shop collective bargaining agreements in which paying union dues is required
for many jobs.

If unions were formed to
protect workers from employer abuse, right-to-work laws were created to
protect taxpayers and workers from union abuse.

In non-right to work states, workers can be
forced to join a union or pay dues as a condition of employment.

22 states have adopted right to work laws
since 1947, mostly in the South and West.

Since 1970 the population of right to work
states has more than doubled

Since 1970 the population of closed shop
states has increased by only 25.7%.

Census data show that 4.7 million Americans
moved from closed shop states to right to work states between April 1,
2000, and July 1, 2008.

Dues go not only toward representational
expense, but also toward lavish compensation for union officials and
political donations to causes and candidates that individual union members
individually might not support.

On average, right to work states have fared
better than their closed shop neighbors.

“Trading
Up – How Expanded Trade Has Delivered Better Jobs and Higher Living
Standards for American Workers” by Daniel Griswold dated October 25,
2007 published by CATO Institute at http://www.freetrade.org/node/782 .